Houston Chronicle -- An Air Force officer with Houston ties who led a reconstruction team in Afghanistan was killed this week in an explosion, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Mark E. Stratton II, 39, was assigned to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Washington as an executive assistant for the deputy director for politico-military affairs for Asia.

Stratton died Tuesday near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds he sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated, according to Pentagon officials.

Also killed in the incident was Senior Airman Ashton L.M. Goodman, 21, of Indianapolis, Ind. She was assigned to the 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

Stratton, a Texas A&M graduate, had deployed to Afghanistan in November as commander of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, said Air Force Capt. Tom Wenz.

The team worked on civil affairs initiatives with the Afghan population, including a $28 million road construction project. As commander, Stratton would have interacted closely with local leaders and village elders, Wenz said.

Stratton was a superb but humble leader, said his friend, Lt. Col. Clark Risner. “He wouldn’t have wanted any media spotlight on him,” Risner said. “He would want it on his team.”

“It sounds cliché but Mark was the most patriotic person I’ve ever met, just a model airman in every way,” he said. “He put the airmen that he was supervising or leading first, every step of the way.”

Risner met Stratton five years ago when both men were students at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., and later served with him at the Pentagon. After Stratton deployed to Afghanistan, he emailed Risner about his pride in his team’s efforts to help Afghanis rebuild their country.

“He told me that was the best job he’s ever had. He felt like he was making a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis,” Risner said. “The work that they’re doing there is nothing short of heroic, and it’s truly tragic that his efforts would end this way.

A senior navigator for the RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, Stratton had previously served on the staff at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

He had received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1992, a year after his graduation from Texas A&M University. His commendations include a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

“He’s a wonderful person, just a fine man as could be,” said Stratton’s grandmother, Dolly Little, in a telephone interview from Foley, Ala., where Stratton spent much of his childhood. “He loved his service.”

Stratton was very close to his late father and namesake, Mark Stratton, an Air Force captain and Vietnam veteran, said his stepmother Debby Young, who lives in southwest Houston. Stratton’s brother, Michael, and stepbrother, Steven, also live in the Houston area. His wife, Jennifer, and their three children live near Washington, D.C.

Young said Stratton’s family is devastated. “We’re pretty much basket cases,” she said. “You always know this is a possibility, but you always think it’s going to happen to somebody else, not to you.”

She takes solace in her memory of Stratton’s passion for his work in Afghanistan.

“This is what he wanted to do,” Young said. “He wanted to make a difference. And he did.”

Stratton will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.